JOHN BURR 10 HOURS OF GLEN HELEN

The John Burr 10 Hours of Glen Helen started at midnight on the morning of the 14th of July, making it the first night start in the history of the Glen Helen Endurance Series. It was an opportunity for night riders to shine on a course that was very motocross oriented. Dirt Bike Magazine along with SRA and Gary Jones designed the course, which incorporated the National track, the REM track and the Lucas Truck track. There was also a portion of Glen Helen’s brand new EnduroCross track, which was designed by Ty Davis and used for the very first time this weekend in the Last Dog Standing extreme enduro. The confluence of  two major off-road races on the same weekend made Glen Helen the epicenter of western off-road racing for two days. The 10-Hour was originally conceived as a night race, but with the midnight start time, it emerged into daylight just after the halfway mark. Title sponsor John Burr Cycles usually sponsors several teams for the long Glen Helen races, and was finally rewarded with an overall victory. The John Burr Yamaha YZ450F was prepared by Bob Bell at Precision Concepts and ridden by Justin Seeds, Ryan Reina, Sean Lipanovich and Jeff Loop.

One of the most impressive riders to emerge from the weekend was Zip Ty Racing’s Dalton Shirey. He rode the Last Dog Standing’s Sportsman race and eventually qualified for the final–one of only 11 riders. Then he joined the Charles Jirsa Husky team, which also had Mitch Anderson, Michael Delfante and  Beau Baron (of UTV and ATV racing fame). Jirsa, who usually rides himself, decided to sit this one out and let the kids take control. From the very start, the 10-hour was a battle between those two teams. At one point, the John Burr riders had a full lap lead,  but Jirsa’s crew unlapped themselves in the early daylight hours. From there on, the two teams more or less matched each other. There were five minutes separating them in the end. Third place team was anchored by Thomas Harris, with Clay Hengeveld, Jeremy Newton and Deelan Newtaon. Johnny Campbell’s son Preston Campbell was fourth. He was joined by X-Games Gold Medalist Tarah Geiger and Jarrod Megla.

Another battle that raged throughout the night was for the top Ironman spot. Brian Adams has been the man to beat for several years in that class, but he had his hands full this time with Kyle Wade. The two of them were close throughout the darkness hours, often trading the top spot. By the time the sun came out, Adams began to break away and eventually finished seventh overall. For full results, go to www.glenhelen.com.